“The circumstances and the moment – immediately after President (Donald) Trump’s defeat in the election – of Mr. Ellis’ choice, and this last-minute effort to push that position in the last three days of this administration are highly suspect,” the letter read.
“In addition, efforts to install or ‘bury’ it in a highly sensitive intelligence position 72 hours before the start of a new administration manifest a disturbing disregard for our national security. Therefore, this placement must not go ahead.”
Ellis, who worked for California Republican Representative Devin Nunes, one of Trump’s staunchest supporters, before joining the National Security Council, was already facing opposition from sens Democrats. Mark Warner and Jack Reed. The two also requested an investigation into the agency’s selection process days after Ellis was selected for the position last November.
Ellis’ choice for the agency is significant because the role of the legal adviser in the country’s largest intelligence agency is a public service position, not a political role, which means that it can be difficult for the Biden government to remove Ellis.
Pelosi, who wrote that there were “irregularities” in the selection process, noted in his letter that Ellis is “a relatively recent law school graduate with a limited curriculum, was selected due to White House interference, and was chosen in much more qualified candidates. ”
“If Mr. Ellis went through the traditional civil service hiring process, I request a detailed account of that process, to understand how someone with his credentials was chosen over other qualified candidates,” wrote Pelosi.
“The Defense Department’s General Counsel is the sole selecting authority for the position of General Counsel for the National Security Agency – as well as all other senior career DoD General Counsel positions,” according to a Sunday statement from the Department of Defense. “The NSA Director does not select or approve candidates for the position of NSA General Counsel.”
“To be clear, the interest of Congress or the media in a specific hiring action is not justification under the principles and processes of the merit system for delaying the placement of a selected qualified individual in a position,” added the statement.
CNN’s Manu Raju, Zachary Cohen, Jeremy Herb, Oren Liebermann and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.